Off the beaten track in the deep south
 

Hi,
I'm planning to do a long weekend somewhere in the deep south from NYC. I am not really too bothered about seeing the big cities or the major tourist attractions. I would really like to experience some small redneck towns (no offence intended) and eat some good BBQ food.
Will probably only have 3-4 nights but would like to stay in at least 2 or 3 different places.
Any suggestions will be greatly appreciated.
Thanks!

"some small redneck towns (no offence intended)"

Sorry. No way to get around the "offence" on that. ;)

This is a first ever post. Possible troll? :-)

Sincerely apologise for the offence. It was a genuine question (clearly showing my ignorance).
If you do have any recommendations at all for more off the beaten track destinations I would find it very helpful

Nope. Maybe someone else will. Good luck!

Thanks!

Here are a couple of thread from earlier this year you might find helpful:

http://www.fodors.com/community/unit...deep-south.cfm

http://www.fodors.com/community/unit...deep-south.cfm

With so few days you will probably have to fly into Atlanta, New Orleans, Memphis, or some such city and rent a car to drive to smaller towns. If you pick a city as a starting place, you will likely receive good advice here.

My suggestion is that you start a new topic with a heading such as: "Where can I find great BBQ and Southern Cooking in and near New Orleans." Or whatever city most interests you.

HTTY

How about offense..? & no offense, but what's a curf ?

I am from MS and I'm not offended . . . but others might be.

I agree with happytrails: If you only have a long weekend, I'd fly into Memphis or New Orleans, and then venture out into the smaller towns from there.

Memphis seems like the obvious choice if you are looking for good BBQ, but right now with all the flooding I don't know what to tell you. The towns I would suggest you go into in MS are under water.

If you decide to go to New Orleans and head over to MS from there, this place is as redneck as it gets and also has great BBQ:

http://theshedbbq.com

I would fly into Memphis and see Graceland if you can and take a trip down to Tupelo,MS and see the house Elvis grew up in. Beale Street in Memphis has some nice restaurants and great music. The casinos in Tunica would be fun but they are all closed right now due to the flooding. Jackson,TN is a nice town and has the Casey Jones railroad and restaurant.If you go over the bridge into West Memphis.Arkansas you can go to Southland Greyhound Track and casino over there. I would suggest flying into Knoxville and going into The Great Smoky Mountains and vist the park and Pigeon Forge and Gatlinburg. The mountains are beautiful and a ton of things to do there. We go about 3-4 times a year and love it. Whatever you decide have a wonderful time and be safe.

Being in New Orleans, if your looking for BBQ and more "redneck", I would definately pick Memphis. If you want a very different experience fly into NO and drive over to small west La towns in Cajun country. Not really like the rest of the deep south, but interesting.

How small are you looking for? That would help with the recommendations.

Here's a link to visiting The Delta in Mississippi. Good luck.

VISIT THE DELTA......
http://www.visitthedelta.com/

Asheville in NC is great for food and artsy things.
Chatanooga in TN is great for food, aquarium,history and arts
Nashville in Tn (and Franklin) have food, country music, art, and history.
Savannah and Charleston are just great southern towns. I go against most of the posters and think Savannah is a better first time town - I love the squares!

Fly to Memphis, enjoy the city, then drive to Oxford MS and visit Ole Miss. You will get a real taste of Southern hospitality.

If you are really on the look out for good "southern" food and BBQ, check out John T. Edge's book Southern Belly and plan your trip. It is a list of the real down home southern cooking and BBQ joints of the South. REALLY fun read.

I agree with Gatlinburglover except we went to the Smokies in April and stayed in a small town, Townsend, TN about 25 miles from Pigeon Forge and all the tourist traps, ate at the Backporch restaurant, very good. It was a great access to the Smokies, took wonderful pictures of roaring rivers, wild turkeys, and deer.

People often forget that FL--the northern part, aka the panhandle--is included in the Deep South (at least according to the Smithsonian Institute). Look no further for evidence than your eyes: N. FL is covered with huge live oaks covered in Spanish Moss (just like in N. Mississippi, etc.), swamps, natural springs and beautiful (remote and secluded) beaches along the Gulf. Plus north Florida is ripe with history, from Pensacola to St. Augustine (Fernandina Beach, Cumberland Island, etc.)--at least 7 different groups of people have claimed St. Augustine (e.g., French, Spanish, Americans, British, Mexico, Pirates, etc.) since it was first established...and it's the longest continuously occupied European-established settlement in the continental United States.

But my favorite part of the FL panhandle is the stip of highway 98 between Panama City to Tallahassee, which includes authentic small towns like Mexico Beach, Cape San Blass, Indian Pass, Apalachicola, St. George Island, Carabelle and Panacea. You could spend 2 days - 2 weeks traveling through these towns. If you do go, plan on staying at the Coombs House in Apalachicola.

Any particular a 4 year old post was topped?

Florida wasn't even tagged in the original thread.